Although he has played down the significance of his role on the bench for the Nedbank Cup final showdown against Mamelodi Sundown in Port Elizabeth, it will be a big day for Ajax Cape Town’s assistant coach Ian Taylor.
With head coach Roger De Sa relegated to the stands after he was sent off during Ajax’s final league match of the season, against Orlando Pirates last weekend, it will be Taylor who will lead the team out onto the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium pitch to face the star-studded Brazilians on Saturday.
It’s an exciting opportunity for the young coach who has worked his way through the club’s youth setup, having begun at Ajax eight years ago with the Under-13 team. Taylor has helped to bring an impressive list of players through the Urban Warriors’ development ranks, including Travis Graham, Bantu Mzwakali, Abbubaker Mobara, Rivaldo Coetzee, Mosa Lebusa, Toriq Losper, Riyaad Norodien, Tashreeq Morris, Jody February and Brandon Peterson.
Saturday will not be the first time that he takes charge of the first team, having operated as a caretaker coach after the departure of Muhsin Ertugral midway through last season.
“It will help that I had five games in charge last year, so I know what to expect,” the 38-year-old told the Cape Times. “It’s exciting for me, going into my first Cup final as a coach, and it will be great to experience it together with what is a young bunch of players, many of whom I have worked with since their Under-13 days and followed them all the way up to the first team. These players are winners, they have won trophies at youth level in Europe. The players are hungry for more success and there has been a great energy at training this week,” he said.
The expensively assembled Sundowns side, which finished second in the league after winning the championship last season, will be most peoples’ favourites. The Brazilians however will still be hurting from their early elimination from the CAF Champions League, and also at the manner in which they gave up their league title to Kaizer Chiefs without much of a fight. These factors could potentially come into play if Saturday’s final proves to be a closely contested game.
“The pressure will be on Sundowns,” said Taylor. “Having exceeded expectations already this season by finishing in fifth position in the league, after many had written us off as relegation candidates, there is no pressure on Ajax for the final. After struggling for a few seasons, the club have come back strongly, and the Nedbank Cup final could prove to be a major turning point as we look to get ourselves back up to the top level and regularly challenging for silverware like we did in the past,” he added.
While looking forward to playing his part in the final, Taylor says that De Sa’s absence won’t affect the team in any way.
“We’ll still practice the same way this week, pre-match preparations will be as normal, and Roger will be there to give the pre-match and half time talks. This is the last game of the season, and although there may be a few tweaks here and there for the final, by now the players know that the tactics are, what’s expected of them. I’ll have the experience of Sander Westerveld (goalkeeper coach) sitting next to me on the bench, and my job on the day will mainly to be sure that the players keep their concentration levels up during the game,” he said.
Taylor can rightfully take credit for his part in the development of an exciting and youthful Ajax squad, although he is also quick to point out the massive impact De Sa has made on the club since joining midway through last season.
“We both enjoy working with youngsters, and Roger has created a very good environment for this, with not too much pressure on the young players. He is vastly experienced, as a former player, and as a coach. The players listen when he talks, and he always has the right advice for them. He’s not an aggressive type of a coach and knows how to deal with the young players. And you can see from the progress that the team has made that he in the right track, that he’s getting into their heads.
“There has been a major improvement throughout the season, for example we have not been conceding sloppy goals like we were before. And the important thing is that Roger understands that it’s a process – success does not happen overnight with a young group of players, the main thing is that we continue to show progress in the right direction.” - Cape Times